The Philippines may soon implement a new method of testing for the detection of the coronavirus disease through saliva instead of nasal swabs.
President Rodrigo Duterte expressed that saliva-based COVID-19 tests have been gaining ground in recent trials and studies, including a 99 percent detection rate in the United States.
“May bago daw, sabi naman nito ni Gordon na ang swabbing sa saliva is 99 percent. Oh eh ‘di iyan na ang gagamitin natin,” he said late Monday night, referring to Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon.
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Duterte furthered that the test could be a good alternative to the expensive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
Earlier, PRC biomolecular laboratories head and former Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said administering the saliva-based tests does not require swab kits, a specimen collector and skilled professional, nor expensive collection vials, as per reports from the Philippine News Agency.
Processing time for saliva samples is only three hours compared to the swab tests that can take six to seven hours.
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The saliva test recommendation reached the Department of Health (DOH) for approval as early as November. However, the government has yet to decide on the use of these tests.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque expressed hope that the cheaper Covid-19 test would also be used in the Philippines once it receives approval from health authorities.
“Hallelujah! Sana maipasok na sa Pilipinas ‘yan (I hope it reaches the Philippines soon). And of course, we’re asking the FDA for speedy evaluation para makakuha na tayo ng mas mura na test laban sa Covid-19 (so we can get a cheaper Covid-19 test),” he said.
